Glossary
The words that show up in pallet quotes, contracts and receiving rules, defined plainly. Each entry links to the page where the term matters.
- Base period
- The reference period whose index value is set to 100.
- Bid leveling
- Adjusting supplier bids to a common basis so they can be compared fairly.
- Block pallet
- A pallet whose deck rests on blocks rather than on continuous stringers.
- Break-even dwell
- The dwell time at which a pooled pallet costs the same per trip as an owned one.
- Chargeback
- A deduction a retailer takes from a supplier's invoice for not meeting its shipping rules.
- Closed loop
- A pallet program in which the same pallets circulate between known locations and come back to the owner.
- Combo pallet
- A pallet built from a mix of new and recycled components.
- Companion stringer
- A second stringer nailed alongside a damaged one as a repair.
- Core
- A used pallet collected for sorting, repair or recycling.
- Cost per trip (CPT)
- The total cost of using a pallet for one shipment, including everything beyond its price.
- Daily rental (daily hire)
- A per-day charge for each pooled pallet on a customer's account.
- Deckboard
- A board forming the top or bottom surface of a pallet.
- Dwell time
- The number of days a pallet stays on one party's account or premises before moving on.
- Dynamic load
- The load a pallet can carry while being moved by a forklift or pallet jack.
- Escalator clause
- A contract term that adjusts price in line with a published index.
- Four-way entry
- A pallet that forks or pallet jacks can enter from all four sides.
- GMA pallet
- Trade shorthand for a 48×40 inch wood stringer pallet of the kind specified for grocery shipping.
- Grade A (#1) pallet
- Trade name for the top grade of recycled 48×40 pallet: whole, with few or no repairs.
- Grade B (#2) pallet
- Trade name for a repaired recycled 48×40 pallet, a step below grade A; definitions vary by supplier.
- Heat treatment (HT)
- The ISPM 15 treatment that heats wood to at least 56 °C for 30 continuous minutes through its whole profile.
- Hundredweight (cwt)
- A US freight unit of 100 pounds (cwt), used to quote LTL rates by weight.
- ISPM 15 mark
- The stamp showing wood packaging was treated to the international standard ISPM 15.
- Issue fee
- A charge a pallet pool makes each time it issues a pallet to a customer's account.
- Loss rate
- The share of pallets lost, stolen or scrapped on each trip in a loop.
- Lost-pallet charge
- A fee a pallet owner bills when rented or loaned pallets can't be accounted for.
- Methyl bromide (MB) fumigation
- A fumigation treatment approved under ISPM 15, marked with the code MB.
- Notched stringer (partial 4-way)
- A stringer with cut-outs that let forklift forks enter from the side of the pallet.
- One-way pallet
- A pallet that leaves with the shipment and is not returned to the shipper.
- Pallet buyback
- A program in which a supplier collects your used pallets and credits you for reusable ones.
- Pallet float
- The number of pallets a closed loop needs in circulation to keep shipping.
- Pallet pooling
- Renting pallets from a company that owns them, issues them to shippers and collects them from receivers.
- Producer price index (PPI)
- A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics measure of the change over time in prices domestic producers receive.
- Racking load
- The load a pallet can carry when supported only at its edges on rack beams.
- Recycled pallet
- A used pallet that has been sorted, and often repaired, for resale.
- Remanufactured pallet
- A pallet built from components salvaged from dismantled used pallets.
- Request for quotation (RFQ)
- A document inviting suppliers to price a defined product, volume and set of terms.
- Routing guide
- A retailer's or receiver's rulebook for how suppliers must ship to it, including pallet requirements.
- Static load
- The load a pallet can carry while resting on a flat floor.
- Stringer
- One of the long boards (usually three) that a stringer pallet's deckboards are nailed to.
- Take-or-pay
- A commitment to buy a minimum volume or pay for the shortfall.
- Tare weight
- The weight of the pallet itself, as opposed to the goods it carries.
- Transfer fee
- A charge some pallet pools make when a pallet moves from one participant's account to another's.
- Unit load
- Products, packaging and pallet handled together as one unit.
- White-wood pallet
- An unpainted wood pallet bought outright, as opposed to a rented, painted pool pallet.
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